Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia is planning to up the capacity of its west-east pipeline by 40% within two years to avoid the troubled Strait of Hormuz, Saudi energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, said, according to Reuters.
“Oil importers have to do what they have to do to protect their own energy shipments because Saudi Arabia cannot take that on its own,” Reuters reported, citing al-Falih as saying.
Earlier in July, Iran captured a foreign-flagged oil carrier near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the state-owned media outlets announced.
A Panamanian-registered ship, on which there were 12 crew members, aimed to smuggle one million litres of oil, Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps said.
As for Aramco’s planned initial public offering, the minister stated that Saudi Arabia was more than ready to launch the IPO next year, depending on global economic and financial conditions.
